Power in the Name of Jesus

The seventy- two returned with joy, saying, “ Lord, even the demons are subject to us in your name!” And he said to them, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall hurt you. Nevertheless, do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven. Mark 10:17-20

As we read this passage today we have to accept a major truth. This truth has been hidden by some, ignored by others and disbelieved by still others, but all the same, it is the truth. We have an enemy. His name is satan, he has a team of spiritual helpers and everything that God seeks to accomplish on the earth, they seek to destroy.

I don’t want to spend ages on this subject because I don’t want to give the devil any more power than he actually holds, however, by not talking about him, some people have become ignorant and given him more power than he has.

People can get so afraid as we look at these spiritual things, but there is nothing to be afraid about. People get so off beam, seeing the devil in everything. That is wrong too. We have an enemy, we need to be aware of him, his tactics and most importantly his limitations, and then move on.

The Bible does not give us a clear timeline as to when satan was cast out of heaven but it tells us he has been, and pretty much that is all we need to know about it. Let us just go back to one foundational truth here, ”In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. “

God is the creator. God is the Divine Being, God is the all knowing, all powerful, all loving creator. Everything else is created. This means that satan was created. He was a created angel, created to serve in the worship and service of the Most High God in His heavenly realm.

In Ezekiel we read, “You were perfect in your ways from the day you were created,
Till iniquity was found in you.
“By the abundance of your trading
You became filled with violence within,
And you sinned;
Therefore I cast you as a profane thing
Out of the mountain of God;
And I destroyed you, O covering cherub,
From the midst of the fiery stones.
‘Your heart was lifted up because of your beauty;
You corrupted your wisdom for the sake of your splendor;
I cast you to the ground,
I laid you before kings,
That they might gaze at you.”

God cast satan out of His presence because satan became proud and violence rose within him. Now, in Revelation 12 we read that when satan rose against God he perverted one third of all the angels to his way of thinking and when he was cast down from the heavenlies so too was this one third.

Only one third!! That means that for every fallen angel or demon that exists to do satan’s bidding there are two who exist to do God’s will in heaven and on the earth. So the next time you are around someone who sees demons in everything, take it with a pinch of salt and remind them ‘There are more angels than there are demons!’

The next to note is this. It is with almost 100% certainty that I can write when some says how, “the devil made me do it”, the devil did not make them do anything. There is only one devil. God created only one angel called satan. One. When he was cast down with his allies around him God didn’t create anymore satans. There is only one and he is orchestrating the whole attack against the worldwide and eternal plans of God.

Just as the President of the united States has never personally made you do anything, neither has satan. The Prime Minister of Great Britain has never phoned me asking me to pay tax. Nor has he ever checked my speed as I am driving, The leaders of nations have agencies to enforce their will upon the people. The leader gets the government to pass the laws. The agents of these laws then see them enforced.

The leader of your country has never paid a penny in benefit themselves, and never taken a penny out of someones pocket. So it is with satan. And we will leave this here today and pick it up next time. Satan, the singular created being, is not running around the world, personally influencing you to make bad decisions and silly mistakes.

Much of what we ascribe to the devil is actually our own habits and lazy thinking. We will look next time to see how the demons can help us to maintain these habits and how they can deflect the truth so that we feel trapped and separated from God’s truth.

Today however I would like you to remember this one thing. “Lord, even the demons are subject to us in your name!” There is nothing going on, in or around your world, that is not subject to you in the name of Jesus. Jesus is the ultimate authority, and we are on His side.

Would you look at the things that you think are holding you back today? Would you look at them through the lens of Jesus? Let the truth of each situation filter through His name. Is there something that you could be doing differently in the situation? Is there someone you could ask to help? What thoughts need renewing, what actions and habits need transforming?

Spend some time praying to God. He is everywhere by the power of the Holy Spirit. Ask Him for wisdom, guidance and help. Make God the solution to your issues bigger than the issues themselves and rejoice, because your name is written in heaven!